H1 2013/14: Clyde & Co, Weightmans, Trowers and Gateley reveal figures

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Financial results 2013/14 Clyde & CoTrowers & HamlinsWeightmans

As the first of the top 100 firms reveal their 2013/14 half-year (H1) results the early story is positive, with Gateley and Trowers & Hamlins seeing revenue growth of 4%, while Weightmans reports a 7% uplift and Clyde & Co sets a high bar for the top 20 with a turnover increase of 16.5% on figures this time last year.

The top 15 insurance firm confirmed that its H1 turnover for 2013/14 is £169m, which it said in a statement ‘has been achieved through a combination of underlying growth and improvements in our working capital management.’

Freshfields claims victory for DB in defending $8bn claim as global institutions continue to fight fires

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Litigation Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer

A week ago Deutsche Bank announced it was setting aside a €1.2bn provision to cover its legal costs but in better news today (8 November), the German banking giant and advisers Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer claimed victory in fighting off an $8bn claim.

The claim was brought by Sebastian Holdings Inc. (SHI) – the Monaco-based investment firm wholly owned and controlled by Norwegian billionaire Alexander Vik – which alleged that Deutsche Bank put through unauthorised trades on its behalf.

Deal watch: drugs are working as Covington and Latham lead on $2.6bn pharma acquisition

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Corporate Covington & BurlingLatham & Watkins

The lucrative pharmaceutical sector continues to provide a corporate boon to Global 100 firms, with Covington & Burling and Latham & Watkins winning key roles on Salix Pharmaceutical’s $2.6bn acquisition of specialty pharmaceutical company Santarus, announced yesterday (7 November).

With the firm’s longstanding reputation as a leading adviser on both corporate and regulatory matters to life sciences clients a key factor behind its 44% increase in revenues over the last five years to $731m, the Covington team advising Salix is being led by corporate partners Edward Britton and Catherine Dargan out of Washington.

Updated: Crunch time – Pannone partners face imminent vote on Slater & Gordon acquisition

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Legal mergers Pannone CorporateSlater and Gordon

Pannone’s ongoing discussions with Australian-listed Slater & Gordon (S&G) over the sale of its consumer services and personal injury (PI) practice are coming to a head, with an equity partnership vote originally scheduled for next Tuesday (12 November) now put back until 19 November.

Should the Manchester-based firm’s partnership approve the business sale agreement – which requires a 75% vote – the firm’s board will now meet on 25 November to exchange agreements. Until today (8 November) that date had been set at Friday 15 November.

To date the discussions have been hampered by disagreements over how to house the corporate team, which is expected to be hived off and continue to practice under the Pannone name. There are also questions over whether the 241-lawyer firm’s white label service Affinity and Connect2Law network fits with S&G’s model.

Strategy review sets expansive course as Mayer Brown aims to galvanise its business

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Mayer Brown

Eight months in the making, Mayer Brown’s revamped international strategy will now see the US law firm re-group around its large international clients and allocate significant resource to providing a more joined up global service in which London is forecast to be key.

The new strategy, put together by the 1,536-lawyer firm’s 12-strong partnership board and eight-member management committee, will see Mayer Brown focus on strengthening its US strongholds in Washington DC, New York and Chicago, as well as its 85-partner London site and Hong Kong office, which now houses 170 lawyers, of which 60 are partners.

Guest post: Is a return to self-regulation really on the cards?

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Legal regulation

Two months ago, I blogged about the Law Society’s surprising submission to the Ministry of Justice’s legal regulation review, which essentially argued for a return to self-regulation, save that disciplinary and enforcement activities would remain the preserve of a much slimmed-down Solicitors Regulation Authority.

On this, at least, the Bar Council is at one with its solicitor counterpart, a point reinforced at last weekend’s bar conference by chair Maura McGowan QC, who laid into the Legal Services Board (LSB) during her address to members.

Field Fisher loses construction head to Fladgate weeks after loss of privacy head to Hogan Lovells

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Strategic recruitment FieldfisherFladgateHogan Lovells

Just weeks after Field Fisher Waterhouse lost its head of privacy Eduardo Ustaran to Hogan Lovells, the 350-lawyer UK top 40 firm has seen head of construction Alan Woolston move to West End firm Fladgate.

Woolston, who specialises in construction and engineering law, takes associate Chris Farrell with him and his arrival brings the number of partners in Fladgate’s construction and projects team to eight.

In-house round-up: High level moves at HMRC, Premium Credit, RSC and Time Inc.

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In-house

Senior in-house moves across the media, culture and financial services sectors have seen former Virgin Money legal director Jasan Fitzpatrick named general counsel (GC) at Premium Credit, the Royal Shakespeare Company (RSC) hand interim GC Marina Zain a permanent role, former News Corp GC Lon Jacobs take up a deputy role at Time Inc. and HMRC’s GC Anthony Inglese prepare to retire.

Inglese, who has led HMRC’s 200-strong legal team since 2008, is set to retire in January 2014. Since joining the civil service in 1975 to train as a barrister, Inglese has spent his entire 38-year career in public service, working in seven government departments and heading five of them.

Ashurst corporate head Stephen Lloyd quits in set-back for Anglo-Australian giant

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Corporate Ashurst

Ashurst global head of corporate Stephen Lloyd has resigned in a move that comes within weeks of a vote for full financial integration with its Australian partner Blake Dawson and post-merger management elections.

Lloyd (pictured), who in July was appointed as co-head of the united firms’ corporate, commercial and competition team alongside Sydney-based Phil Breden, became the legacy Ashurst global head of corporate in 2010.

West meets East – CMS latest to announce Istanbul office launch

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Middle East and Africa CMS

The latest move by CMS to enhance its international offering lies at the cross roads between Europe and Asia, with the Global 100 firm today (7 Nov) announcing that it is to launch an office in Istanbul – the latest western firm to open in one of the world’s fastest-growing economies.

As partners Döne Yalçin and John Fitzpatrick relocate to Istanbul to lead the new venture, the office will offer services in project finance and infrastructure work, with further plans to expand in the fields of energy, capital markets, and M&A.